[1] The group, which had over 50 thousand members in January 2002, was strongly pro-Putin and openly endorsed by President Vladimir Putin's administration.

It had strict rules and indoctrination methods, and was openly criticized for its similarity to the Soviet Young Pioneers established by the Communist Party in 1922.

Some of the groups requirements included commands to read six Russian classics a year and to visit the site of a battle where Russia was victorious.

At one rally, members were encouraged to tear apart copies of Vladimir Sorokin's Blue Salo, which was deemed pornographic for a passage depicting gay sex between Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev.

A group member was involved in the illegal dissemination of pornographic video tapes, there were also financial disputes between the Petersburg section and the Moscow headquarters,[2] while Sorokin[citation needed] fell out of favor with the Kremlin.